Here’s the task as written in the book:
“ Any changes in your financial situation or your perspective on it? Any new – even crazy – ideas about what you would love doing? Pull images around this and add to your image file.”
** The image file is essentially a vision board of images that represent the direction you you want your life to go. If you can “see” it, your mind will have an easier time creating it. I really believe in this (and there are lots of examples which support my belief), and I would encourage everyone to give a vision board a try. Just for fun.
You constantly hear of people coming up with the craziest (and best) ideas when they’re either taking a shower or on the move. There’s a reason for this. When you’re moving the blood is flowing and therefore the brain is working. You’re also not in “work mode,” so the pressure’s off and your mind has an opportunity to mindlessly wander without any obligations. Such is what happened to me.
I was walking home from work, listening to a podcast when something the interviewee said (I was listening to Lewis Howes on the Lifestyle Hacking Podcast) clicked in my brain in a way that was totally unrelated to anything he was actually talking about. An idea popped into my brain for an application (ideally for a tablet… but this would probably also work for an iphone) whose purpose is time management and self-improvement. In interviews Gretchen Rubin (of the Happiness Project) speaks about how when she reads she takes notes for reasons not apparent to her at the time of the note-taking. I do this. I have detailed notes on several self-help books that I have read over the last 3 years. Going back to this app – as the juices started flowing, so did the ideas. I started to get excited… I still am excited. Now there are tons of time-management and self-improvement apps out there, but none like the one I’m in the process of dreaming up. I know this, because I’ve looked for them.
This is something else that I’ve heard said several times. Put out into the world something that you yourself would find useful, and would use. I want to create this app, because I want to use it. I know this is just another thing that I’m adding to my already overflowing plate, but I’m just too excited about this idea to let it go to rest.
How does this change my financial situation? Well, it doesn’t really… but it does add another layer into how I relate to the world around me. I have been looking for a way to give back, but the “how” has stumped me a little bit. What do I have to offer? If you have this same sort of question looming over you, take a moment and make a list of your strengths. For many (myself included), too much time is spent criticizing their weaknesses, and not enough time celebrating their successes and our acknowledging their strengths. I’m terrible at a lot of things, but I’m pretty good at time management. Use this knowledge.
Oh, and once you’ve discovered your strengths… go for a walk and get those juices flowing.
